Twisted Perspectives
by AbsolBreeder
Summary: Trainers all love pokémon. That's a generally accepted fact of life. I, on the other hand, want nothing to do with them. Now I'm being forced to go on a journey alongside one of those creatures. Watch as I do my best to survive alongside the very thing I fear and hate the most, while trying to get the journey over with as fast as possible. Let it not be said that it will be fun.
1. Forced Journey

_Brief author notes_: To kick things off, let it be known that I do **not** own the "Pokémon" franchise, Nintendo or any of its affiliates/subsidiaries. More to be said at the end of the chapter.

* * *

_Aspertia City; 3:50 PM; opposite to the Protagonist's House_

A woman carelessly strode down the road, enraptured with the autumn leaves blowing around her head. She stood at an average height, with her chestnut brown hair pulled back into a messy bun along with a few loose strands of hair across her forehead. Her expression changed into one of disappointment once the leaves landed before her feet. She sighed briefly, before shaking her head and continued on her way.

Or, rather, she tried. She was interrupted as her Xtransceiver suddenly began to ring. She yelped, visibly startled before she hastily looked down at the noisy device. Tapping a button on it, she answered the call. "Hello?" She asked, bemusement tinting her voice.

"Hi! … Cindy? Is that you?" A voice rang from the Xtransceiver; the screen turning black and fuzzy for a brief moment before a face appeared on it. And what a face it was, if Cindy's shocked, and then giddy, expression said anything about it! "A… Aurea Juniper?! Is that you?" She exclaimed in disbelief, "Oh my God! It's been so long!"

"That it has! We have so much to catch up on, and so much I'd like to discuss," Juniper said, a smile tugging at her lips, "But… before that, I have a favour to ask of you!"

"Anything for you, Aurea! Ask away!" Cindy retorted, nodding vigorously in support of her own statement.

"That's great to hear! Alright, here's the deal…"

* * *

My eyes scanned the television screen in boredom, my head bereft of thoughts. A groan of dismay managed to escape me, my chest shaking faintly from the vibrations. "Dear God," I muttered, eyes fixated upon the old cartoon re-run airing on television, "How did I find this enjoyable when I was a kid?"

I perked up as I heard the door opening, glancing back at it as my mom walked in. I flipped the television off and turned to face her, cocking an eyebrow upward in curiosity. "Hiya, mom. You're… late, I guess," I glancing up at the clock planted above the doorway, before turning my gaze back down to her. "What gives? I thought we were going out for dinner?"

I only noticed her massive grin when she practically shouted "Honey! I have great news!" She rushed forward and gripped me in a tight hug, hopping around in obvious ecstasy. I blinked owlishly, worming my way out of her grip after a brief struggle against her vice-like grip. Eyeing her warily, I took a cautious step back. The last time she was this happy, she forced me to catch a bus to the town next over and help look after the… pokémon of Floccesy Ranch to help pay off a debt. I _still_ don't know why she was happy about sending me off, though.

Shaking my head of its stray thoughts, I re-focused on my mother. "What news…?" I asked tentatively, an image of a pokémon tackling me to the ground flashing behind my eyes.

"You're going on a pokémon journey!" She burst out; beginning to gush on about some Juniper fellow, but I couldn't care less. I tuned her voice out as what she said registered with me. A journey…? I could deal with that for, say, backpacking around Unova before university.

Pokémon? That's a big, fast and knee-jerk no. That is exactly what I said. However, she seemed to ignore me, continuing on with her rambling.

I sighed, shaking my head slowly before curtly turning around, walking to my room.

"Hey! Where are you going? Get out and look for Juniper's assistant, she has your pokémon!" She stated, finally stopping to take in what I was doing.

"No. I hate pokémon and you know it. I'm not going." I managed out through gritted teeth, glancing back at my mother. If it wasn't for those freaking pests, we wouldn't—"Nonsense! Hugh will be ecstatic when he hears that you finally decided to go on a journey with him! Go on now, don't keep her waiting! Her name's Bianca. She has a "Big green hat," you can't miss it!"

I paused at the base of the stairs leading to my room, turning to face my mom. "… Decided? Please, quit being delusional for a second. You did say something right, though. Hugh. If they're giving away pokémon willy-nilly like that, he should get it. God knows he'd want it more than I would, anyway." I nodded to myself, striding back to my mother and passing by her. "I'll be back in five. I'll tell Hugh to go get it."

And with that, I left the door without allowing my mom to utter another word.

* * *

"OI! HUGH! GET OVER HERE!" I shouted out, gesturing madly towards myself as I strode down the street towards Hugh, startling the people around me. He seemed to catch onto what I said, as he turned around, stared at me for a brief second and ran at me full speed afterwards. I guess he knows I'm serious as I don't usually shout.

"He—Hey there, man. What's wrong?" Hugh said, hair swept aside and a slightly winded look crossing his features. I was, admittedly, impressed. That was a fifty meter dash – and it didn't even occur to me until just now that I had shouted at him from over fifty meters. Heh, just goes to prove how much I don't want that fucking animal.

"Alright, look. Want a pokémon" I asked, glancing around; directly diving into the subject. Hugh blinked, a flash of shock flashing across his face before he managed to even himself into a calm state. "Wh—What?!" He demanded, staring at me incredulously. "Where'd you get a pokémon?" He asked, "And better yet, why would you give it to me?"

I rolled my eyes, grumbling under my breath in irritation. You'd think that people would allow me to actually hate pokémon in peace around here. But no, they refused to believe that it wasn't some long-term joke. It's as if they've never seen a rational person who doesn't like to put his life in the paws of some fuzzy fur-ball. "No jumping to conclusions!" I snapped at him, narrowing my eyes into a glare, "I didn't get a pokémon, and I have no damn intention of getting it. Some lady called Juniper told my mom – or something like that – to give me the creature. I don't want it, obviously." I paused, sucking in a breath, "of course, you'd want it. Right?" I asked, the irritation seeping out of my voice and being replaced with hope, sheer, desperate hope. If he refused, then – knowing him – he would likely help my mom and all but kick me out of the city with the creature in hand.

"What? Bro, I'm flattered!" He exclaimed, nodding slowly towards me. I felt my throat constrict tightly, and my hopes rise as I staring at him desperately. "But… no, I can't! I already have my partner, Snivy! And you need a pokémon, man!" He pumped his fist to empathize his statement, before latching onto my hand and proceeding to drag me back to my house.

Outside the door, he gave me a grin and told me to stay put. At that moment, I knew I was screwed; I was getting that pokémon whether I liked it or not. I closed my eyes after he entered, flared my nostrils and sucked in a deep breath through them. "Deep breaths, calm voice and rational thoughts. Deep breaths, calm voice and rational thoughts." I mumbled the mantra under my breath, all but grasping at straws to keep myself from losing my calm. Plans began to form in my brain, with thoughts ranging from 'misplacing' the pokémon, to tossing it into a river.

A few seconds later, Hugh left the house, latched onto my hand and proceeded to manhandle me to… somewhere, really. I didn't have any clue as to where. I couldn't help but feel distant from the current situation; the only thing occupying my mind at the moment was the monster I was about to be given.

Despite myself, I managed to choke out a few words, "Where are we going?"

"To that Bianca girl. Your mom told me what she looks like," Hugh threw out towards me, eyes firmly staying ahead of me; scanning the streets and crowds for, I assume, a "Big, green hat."

I just shook my head. I wasn't even able to suppress the curse that escaped my lips. "… Hugh, just… get. This. Over. With." I gritted out, a dangerous edge to my voice that, unfortunately, Hugh seemed all too impervious to. "The city's overview, go there. We can look from there." I groaned out, snapping my hand out of his grip and sending him a death glare.

He seemed to brighten up at the idea, ignore my glare and continue onwards to the city overview.

Rubbing my wrist, I reluctantly followed him, all the while keeping a cautious eye out for a big, green hat.

* * *

_Ending notes: _I'm glad that's over with! To get the usual jazz over with, this is what I have to say in regards to the fanfic:

A few days ago, I received Pokemon Black 2 as a gift. It's my first Pokémon game since I bought Pokémon Diamond in 2008. The story shall be written alongside my progress in Black 2. After playing for a while, I'll stop playing to write a chapter. This is intended to take Black/White 2's male protagonist and twist him into something else_. _In terms of behavior, he is more of an original character than anything due to his dislike of pokémon. In terms of who he _is,_ then he is the Black/White 2 protagonist.

This is also my first piece of fanfiction to be written, so _any_ criticism, feedback or the like is appreciated. Finally, enjoy the story.


	2. A Lifetime Partner

_Aspertia City; 5:00 PM; City Outlook_

"Oh? There you are! You must be Nate! It's so great to meet you, I'm Bianca!" chirped a cheery blonde. I took in her appearance: emerald eyes; odd blonde hair that stuck out from under her beret-hat hybrid… thing – I had no clue what that was supposed to be called! – with a white bow attached to the side; a fluffy orange jacket thrown over her white shirt, among other things.

All in all, she was cute. Or, rather, she would be if she wasn't so god damn happy about forcing a pokémon onto me.

I belatedly realized I was staring, so with a quick shake of my head I refocused my attention onto Bianca. "… Yeah, I'm Nate. Wish I could say the same," I bit out, a rather awkward tint to my voice. I wished I could just flat-out refuse, but it just wasn't in me to argue right now. It seemed futile to attempt to throw up my hands and say 'no' to this group of irrational people. I felt my face crumple into a grimace, as the gravity of the whole situation hit me: I was being _kicked out of my home._ I was expected to find my way in the wilderness with a savage beast. My throat began to tighten and I felt a small burning behind my eyes begin to build up.

I was royally screwed.

I was – interrupted?

I was jerked out of my thoughts as Bianca stared at me, her eyes full of unspoken expectations. Looking to my right, Hugh had the same look in his eyes. "… What?" I croaked out, before blinking and coughing faintly to clear my throat.

"Well? Go ahead and choose a pokémon!" Hugh said, slapping my shoulder heartily.

I felt sickened.

Looking back at Bianca, I saw a previously unnoticed cylindrical container clutched by both edges with her hands. The lid was opened and I idly noticed a few wisps of smoke disappearing near the top. Inside…

Inside it held three pokéballs. Their tops were polished to a well-sheen, reflecting the sunlight off of the top and reflectively making me narrow my eyes. The top half was in the signature cherry red, with the bottom being a untainted white. Both halves were split apart by the button on the front and the hatch on the back.

Despite how nice it looked, I felt a small amount of rage beginning to build up inside of me. It looked so innocent, as if it wasn't about to condemn me to a life of misery with a blasted beast. It was so… _mocking_ in how normal it looked.

I stopped my train of thought, exhaling a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Looking up at Bianca, I stared at her in obvious confusion. "Uh, how am I, uh… going to know which is which?"

She instantly went scarlet red, blushing furiously as she mumbled something under her breath. I vaguely heard a mention of "Oops" and "Not again," but whatever it was, she quickly got over it and grinned sheepishly at me. "Oh, I forgot to show them to you! I'm so sorry, Nate!" She gushed out, sending me an apologetic smile.

"Riiight, just–just show them to me, _please,_" I mumbled, desperately wishing that she would just go faster.

She hastily nodded and began to grab the pokéballs and throw them open one at a time.

The first beast materialized from the pokéball and, for a split second, I thought it was a snake. However, I noticed its slender limbs directly afterwards and dismissed the thought. It was a small thing, about half a meter in height, with a mostly green body and a cream underside. It had large red eyes surrounded by a yellow ring which extended out behind it into some sort of yellow leaf, and I noticed another yellow strip trailing down its back as it turned around to examine its surroundings. It also had a tail which seemed to split into three leaves at the end, along with slightly pointed nose.

Once it seemed satisfied with its observations, it stared up at me, Bianca and Hugh with a curious gaze. It seemed rather… distant and cold. Like a cunning and calculating person. I hastily threw that thought out the window kicking and screaming: it is a **beast.** It has no emotions for it to be distant, let alone cunning.

It hissed bitterly and turned to face away from us, while Bianca sighed and then explained that its name was "Snivy."

I heard the next pokémon before I saw it: a boisterous 'oink' rang out through the outlook as a small – also about half a meter in height – piglet appeared before us. It seemed to have a dominant coloration of orange, with a large black stripe covering its midriff. The majority of the front of its head was black, along with all of its long ears. Typical for a pig, it had a large pink snout along with a wide yellow strip over it. Its tail, just like a piglet, was curled up and topped with a reddish ball. Once it saw us, it closed its eyes in 'cheer' and raised itself on its hide legs, waving its paw at Bianca. I noticed the bottom of its paws were also black. Afterwards, it proceeded to rush up to… _me_, out of the three of us, and rub its head against my shin. I flinched back and resisted the urge to kick it away. Hastily putting distance between the animal and myself, I glowered down at it. It, at least, had the instinct to freeze and back away from me. I kept its "cheerful" demeanor – disdainfully – at the back of my head to compare with the other two pokémon, once I saw the last one.

The last pokémon was, in my opinion, a strange one. Well, stranger than any other pokémon, that is. Its general shape reminded me of a small snowman, or an otter. Its color scheme seemed to have three types of colors in it, white; light blue and dark blue. Its head was bulbous and round, with three faux-freckles on each cheek. Its ears were on top of its white head, and were triangular and dark blue. Although, the edges of its ear were circular enough that I almost mistook it for a circle. Its dark eyes were about twice the size of a regular human, and oval in shape. Once it stood up, it showed the fact that it was also bipedal, like that Snivy. Its arms were short, and the end of the appendage was rounded with no digits. Its body seemed to, absurdly, link directly to its feet with no legs in between them. The feet themselves were flat and resembled swimming flippers, with three intersections at the tip of its feet distinguishing the toes apart. Its tail also resembled a swimming flipper, and, finally, it had some sort of shell atop its chest. It looked at the three of us and…

It detached the shell from its chest? It did; my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Somehow managing a grip on it with its fingerless hands, it waved at us with the shell. It seemed to also be cheerful, but not as hyperactive as Tepig.

Bianca turned to me and told me that it was called "Oshawott," and she then went on to explain their respective types. Snivy was, obviously enough, a grass type pokémon; Tepig was a fire type pokémon and Oshawott was a water type pokémon.

"So, go on now, pick the starter that will be your life-time companion!" Bianca grinned from ear-to-ear and gestured grandly behind her. I couldn't tell if she was pointing at the world or at the beasts. Looking down at the three pokémon, I grimaced and considered my choice. Snivy seemed distant, as if it thought _it_ was superior to _me_, a human. That instantly threw it out of the list for me. Thinking over it, Tepig was simply too hyperactive, and too… affectionate – as if they could feel emotions, tch. – for me to consider. As shown from its previous stunt, it would simply love rubbing off on me or someone else.

That left me with one choice.

I turned to Bianca and informed her of my choice.

"I guess I'll take Oshawott," I intoned in a painfully slow manner. Bianca herself seemed to brighten up way too much at my decision, and Hugh seemed to develop a nasty grin.


	3. Cheerful Damnation

_Aspertia City; 5:20 PM; City Outlook_

"Wonderful! You know, that was my choice for a starter two years ago, too!" Bianca burst out, her eyes wide at the 'delightful' coincidence – a coincidence that could have been avoided if they simply listened to reason.

I held myself back from saying something rude as I turned back to Bianca; she had just put the other two beasts back into their pokéballs. "What are the chances? Hmph," I muttered, dragging my hazel gaze to Hugh. He was smirking at me.

"What?" I bluntly asked him. He just broadened his smirk, reaching down to his pocket and fishing out a pokéball. I stared at it.

"What are you on about?" I questioned, glancing between the pokéball and Hugh. "Why," he began, tossing the pokéball into the air, "It's a battle, of course!"

At his declaration, Bianca squealed in joy, hopping up and down on the balls of her feet. I continued to stare at him as if he was insane – which he probably was. "Are you barking mad, Hugh? Didn't you notice that I _just_ got this damn beast? I know nothing about it!" I snapped at him, turning away and glaring at Bianca. "Now, do you want anything else or am I free to finally leave?"

She gazed at me for a moment in silence before nodding and reaching into her back pocket. From within, she took out a rectangular shaped black and white device. Despite myself, I managed to recognize it from all of Hugh's wishful whining about wanting one – it was a pokédex.

"This is a pokédex, Nate! Professor Juniper wanted me to give you this alongside your pokémon. It's an encyclopedia on all known pokémon to this day!" She trailed off as she gazed into the distance, her eyes nostalgic. I didn't interrupt her daydreaming. "Aah… I remember when I went out to fill it two years ago, it was an amazing journey! I'm sure you'll have even more fun than I did!" She proclaimed, nodding as she thrust the device into my hands. "Professor Juniper asks that you try your best to fill the pokédex in exchange for giving you a pokemon. While we all already have the information, some more research never hurt!" She grinned, about to continue rambling on when Hugh, surprisingly, interrupted her.

"Hey! Bianca, can… can I have a pokédex too?" He asked, eyes narrowed in deep thought. Bianca stared quizzically at him, tilting her head to the side. "Huh…?"

"Please," he continued on, eyes turning back from his sudden thought to a near pleading, "Please! Can I have one? I… I need, I must get stronger! It'll be perfect for me!" He finished off, bowing his head down to Bianca.

I stared at him, sucking on my teeth at the development. Hugh always did say he wanted to grow stronger. He would say he needed to find something. What exactly he wanted to find, he would never say. However, it was obvious that he wanted this desperately. I briefly entertained the thought of giving him my pokédex, before I decided not to. He – along with my mother – dragged me into this, why would I help him? Friend or not, I was hoping he suffered just a bit for his involvement in roping me into this whole trainer business.

Meanwhile, Bianca had been staring at Hugh silently for the past two minutes. Just then, she nodded slowly and brought out another pokédex, muttering softly. Despite her low tone, I could still gather what she said. "Well… the way we hand these out _has_ changed in the last two years. I guess it wouldn't hurt."

* * *

The clatter of utensils against plates rang out through the kitchen, filling in the silence as both my mother and I stared at each other. My mother had a smile that was growing more and more strained, while I didn't bother hiding my apathy towards her. She had been constantly trying to make conversation with me for the past ten minutes as we ate our final meal – at least, that's what I hoped – together.

I couldn't care less about her at the moment, and I let that show. I knew that later on, given the chance, I would make amends with her. However, at the moment, I was too busy thinking about what I would do with myself out in the wild. Obviously, I wouldn't even think of catching every pokémon in the pokédex. I'd settle with just scanning the data of the ones I came across, which was, hopefully, going to be a small amount. Absently finishing my dinner, I left the table without a word.

And as the birds went to sleep, as the sun turned off and night settled in, I prepared myself for a restless night of planning. Before I began, however, a red shine caught my attention. It was the beast's pokéball. After a brief bout of hesitation, I tossed the ball up into the air, like I would with a baseball. At the height of its motion, just before gravity settled in, the pokéball popped open with a small chimp and let loose a red wave of particles. They honestly looked like they were going in no certain direction, but they still managed to bunch up together to form an outline of a small figure. The light gradually began to soften and define itself into the shape of Oshawott. This was the first time I've released it since Bianca gave him to me, and I had to admit, the releasing process was impressive. The creature inside it was not, on the other hand.

"You, uh… you just sit over there," I pointed at my bed, keeping my eyes on the pokémon, "And do whatever you want. Just keep quiet and keep out of my way."

Just before I turned back to my desk, I realized something. The creature had no name, and I wasn't possibly going to call it by its species' name. Closing my eyes, I let out a long-suffering sigh, and raked my head for a name. Only one thing came to mind.

"Oh, by the way, your new name is Damnation – don't be surprised if I call you Nat," I threw towards the Oshawott, settling into my desk and beginning my long term planning for the journey. I noticed that Damnation cried out happily at my choice of a name.

A beast, indeed.


	4. Energetic Annoyances

_Aspertia city; Protagonist's house; 6:34 AM_

Detached hazel eyes stared into mine, alongside a topless visor that kept the bangs of his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

That was all I really cared about in my appearance: my hat and my eyes. Other than that, I wore whatever I could as long as it was comfortable. Nonetheless, I continued the overview of my appearance in the mirror.

The cyan and black undershirt was hidden by a blue short sleeved sports jacket. It was Autumn, but the weather wasn't cold enough to warrant wearing a full blown jacket. Above the orange and black running shoes, the figure had a pair of knee length shorts atop yet another black and blue article of clothing: spandex, in this case. It was topped off by a single strap rectangular shaped bag slung across his backside.

"As usual," I grunted out, finishing the scan over my attire, "Nothing new."

My clothing wasn't very interesting to me. However, the bags under my eyes were. "That thrice damned beast," I grumbled under my breath. It had wanted to sleep in the same bed as me, and I wouldn't even dare entertain the thought. In the end, I ended up staying up all night as it would even hop onto my lap if I tried to sleep on the floor.

Needless to say, it was a long night. The fact I wasn't a morning bird didn't help out a single bit.

I shook my head; forcefully snapping my eyes open. Opening my bag, I stared down into it, checking for the third time that everything I needed was on hand.

Too bad I couldn't take my Wii, my TV, my bed, my electric water boiler, my laptop or the stove.

I blinked at my long list of soon to be missed items. My mouth twitched in mirth, and a slight chuckle found a way out of me. It looks like I was too dependent on modern day applications. I guess living in the wilderness with a wild beast will solve that, sooner or later.

Picking myself up, I glared down at Damnation, who was still asleep on the bed, snoozing without a care in the world. I kicked the side of the bed, calling out to it. "Oi. Wake up."

The oshawott jerked up and off of the bed in an instance, confused for but a moment before turning into a disgustingly small bundle of joy. "Come on, you little Damnation. Time to leave."

It looked like it was going to stick to my leg, and I wasn't going to let that happen any time soon. Grabbing the pokéball from my pocket, I fumbled around with it. Pressing the button at its front simply made it enlarge. Doing so again would minimize it. It also had no buttons other than the front one, which was rather baffling to me. How was I supposed to put the creature back into it?

Unintentionally, my grip on the ball tightened at the thought of Damnation clinging onto me for the rest of the journey, and just like that, the ball popped open.

Staring down at it, I blinked rapidly. Working on a hunch, I glanced between the ball and my hand, before shutting it once more. Applying pressure on the top part resulted in another successful opening.

"Alright… that's how you release them. Now how do I put them back into it?" I questioned, eyebrows furrowing in thought. Maybe it required the reverse action? Shrugging as I had nothing else to work with, I awkwardly applied pressure to the bottom – the white – half of the pokéball.

A beam shot out of the ball, directly towards the blue otter. Engulfing it, the white light seemed to analyze into red, decomposing Damnation at a fast pace while I stared at the process, alarmed. Within a few seconds, the pokémon went from being right next to me, to being safely confined in its pokéball. I grinned at my success, beginning to hum a small tune as I walked out of my room.

* * *

"Thank God for my visor," I called out in relief, adjusting my visor to keep the sun out of my eyes. Today was an unnaturally hot day, and I was taking my time getting to the gate leading to Route 19.

Glancing across the scarcely populated streets, I couldn't help the envious frown that developed. There they were, casually going about their daily lives.

Without being forced to train monsters.

I thought myself justified in my envy, but I still didn't like being envious of anything. Shaking my head, I wiped the frown off my face and began to concentrate upon the pros of this disaster. For one, I was going to get into better shape, depend on myself and see the rest of the continent.

Casting a look down at my pocket, I rolled my eyes. 'Well, not fully depend upon myself, at least.'

A call of "Hey, Nate!" drew my attention to my left: towards the city's Pokémon Center. There, at the entrance of the Pokémon Center stood Bianca, waving enthusiastically towards me. I grimaced, shooting a glance down the road before turning to approach her.

I didn't need to move, apparently, as Bianca met me halfway to her and engulfed me in a greeting hug, catching me off guard. My body quickly went rigid, and I there stiffly, questioning if she was always this affectionate with people. Shaking my head, I re-focused my attention back onto her, just as she let me go. Thank God.

"H-Hi, Bianca," I spluttered out, diverting my gaze away from her and towards the Center. Heat crawled up my neck, and I felt embarrassed at my reaction to a simple hug.

She grabbed my arm, tugging me into the Pokémon Center. "I've been waiting for you for the past half hour, y'know! Looks like I guessed right about you passing through the Center!" She babbled on, "I've got lots to show you before you can leave."

The sliding doors to the Center closed behind us, and I immediately let all the tension leave my body as the cold air of the air conditioner hit us, banishing the dry feeling of heat away from us. Standing at the door way, I took in the Center's semi-familiar interior – Hugh would drag me with him to heal his pokémon from time to time – the Center was divided into three sections; the majority was dominated by a pleasant beige colored floor, leading us straight ahead to a counter – which had a bored looking nurse stationed there – and two stairs leading to a top floor. I couldn't see past the top of the stairs from this vantage point, so I didn't concern myself with it. To my immediate right and left, just a few steps away, the beige flooring abruptly cut off into a gray tile set. The right also had a counter, but it was colored blue, unlike the read of the counter ahead of me.

Two people were behind the counter, both looking quite bored; their chins were resting against their hands as they all but dozed off. The left section, on the other hand, had half a dozen or so people lounging around in chairs, reading books from the nearby bookcases or watching something on television – I couldn't tell what, exactly, they were watching due to my distance away from them. I never did have the best eyesight around.

Instead of forcefully being dragged around, I willingly walked next to Bianca, earning me a pleased hum from her. She got a raised eyebrow in return. I guess she _is_ more observant than I give her credit for to have actually noticed that I was disgruntled about this whole damn plot to throw me into the wilderness. Well, either that, or she just likes the place.

"So, Nate, let's give you a rundown of the place! Right over there, at the red counter, is the Nurse. That's the main part of the Center. Just speak to her if you want your partners healed, alright? She'll get them patched up in no time at all!" Bianca rushed out the words, a grin plastered across her face. She said all of that in one breath, and I was amazed that she didn't even seem winded. Heh, now she really is excitable, "And, and… which next? Let's see… ah! That blue counter? Yeah, that's a good next choice," She nodded affirmatively to herself, continuing on, "That's the Pokémart. It used to have its own building and everything – years and years ago! Can you imagine? We were, like, ten or something! – but the Pokémon League eventually merged it into the Center to conserve space in the cities. Anyhow, they sell all sorts of things! Like, like, pokéballs, potions, antidotes, camping items and even pokémon food!"

As she slowly winded down from her speech, I wondered if her mouth was even linked to her brain. She could blabber on faster than I could think. Really, I didn't know how I even managed to understand her.

"And right there, in front of the Pokémart is the lounge. Most people wait there while their pokémon are being healed, or if they're just passing by town! That's about everything you'll need to know, Nate. But before we finish, here, take these pokéballs!" And with that, she reached into her bag and grabbed something – the pokéballs – and dumping them into my hands.

"Wait, wha—" Bianca cut me off with her ever-present smile, "Don't mention it! Just follow me and I'll show you how to use them," She quickly walked out of the Center and left me fumbling around with ten pokéballs in my hands. Huffing, I set them down onto the counter, glaring at the chuckling clerk, who had apparently witnessed the whole scene. After stashing the pokéballs in my bag, I followed Bianca outside.

Once outside, I was surprised – and irked – to see my mother chatting with Bianca. I tentatively walked up to them, and Bianca waved cheerfully at me, despite the fact that I was only a meter away from her. Before she could talk, however, my mother began speaking, "Honey! There you are, Bianca was just telling me about how she was going to show you how to catch a pokémon! You left before I could wake up, but I wanted to wish you good luck on your journey! Remember to stay in touch, okay?"

I stared at her incredulously, was she really pretending that she would miss me? She was the one who was sending me away in the first place! Shaking myself, I coldly addressed her, "I don't need your good wishes, and I really doubt I'll be free – and bored – enough to call you during this oh-so wonderful journey." I basically spat out the last few words, before briskly grabbing Bianca's hand, and leaving my wide eyed mother behind.

A glance at Bianca showed me that, for once, she was speechless. I simply shook my head and slowed our pace down once we left the block behind.

"Shouldn't you be the one dragging me around?" I wryly asked, letting her hand drop out of my grasp. That seemed to jerk her out of her startled silence, as she gave a shaky grin and took the lead.

At the exit of the city, which led to route [NUMBER HERE], Bianca showed me through the city's entrance gate, which also served as a toll booth. I already knew of the place, due to multiple camping trips, but of course, Bianca saw it fit to still tell me all about it.

"You might know that this is the entrance into the city, but it also serves as a lookout post in case of rampaging herds of pokémon. Of course, that hasn't happened in a very long time, and all the pokémon around Aspertia aren't really," she hesitated briefly, "well, strong. So no one has anything to worry about in the cities. Non-citizens of a city have to pay a small fee to enter the city, as well as register in the entry log."

She paused, taking a long glance at me to make sure I was keeping up.

As she spoke, we had stopped outside the entrance's entrance. That apparently gave someone ample time to find us among the street's thin crowd.

"Hey, Nate! Wait up!" A high-pitched voice rang out behind me. I blinked at the familiar voice, Turning my back to the city border, I craned my neck down to take a look at Hugh's little sister, Candice. She was panting rather heavily, with her hands resting against her knees. It was rather obvious that she had been running for a while.

"Hey, squirt," I slowly began, an eyebrow arched at her, "What are you doing here?" I questioned carefully. I always had to be careful with my words around Candice, as she utterly adored pokémon. While I may hate the creatures, I refused to talk anything against them in her, or any child for that matter, presence. She, as were most kids, was rather sensitive and took words harshly. If I began to badmouth pokémon, I just knew that she would burst into tears. And I have no need for a weepy eight year old – no matter how cute – on my hands.

"Hugh left already! But he left before I could give him my gift," She mumbled the last bit rather glumly. "But then, then I had a great idea! I had two copies of the gift I wanted to give him, so why not give one to you too? See? It's an amazing plan! All you have to do now is deliver Hugh his gift!" She cheerfully finished off, once again bouncing on the balls of her feet.

She was obviously reluctant to reveal _what_ exactly the gift was, but I asked anyway.

"Uh… why don't you just leave it to be a surprise?" She asked, having lost her hyperactive posture at the question. I simply nodded, as I wasn't in the mood to bug it out of her with Bianca still there. "Alright. Take care," I flashed her a small, fake smile and turned on my heel to approach the gate.

* * *

"And _that,_ Nate, is how you catch a pokémon!" Bianca finished off with a grin, playing around with the pokémon's new pokéball, seemingly at ease with the fact that she had just had a half hour long "battle" with the patrat. And by battle, I of course mean her tracking down the pokémon and playing with it for twenty five minutes, and spending the next five minutes beating it into a pulp. All in all, a sickening event.

I couldn't see myself doing that, not in a thousand years. "Yeah… right, awesome." I stumbled away from the ticket of trees, following the newly-risen sun's light to the main path.

"Well, I'll be leaving you now, Nate! Remember to look out for wild pokémon, and take care of yourself!" Bianca called out, waving for the last time as she headed in the direction of Aspertia. I simply nodded, gulping warily as I stood in the middle of the path. Looks like it's just me, now.

"Well," I glanced down at my belt, "Just the beast and I."


End file.
